1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a data selecting apparatus and, more particularly, to a data selecting apparatus for selecting a desired data item from sets of data items stored in an internal memory device and an external memory medium.
2. Description of Related Art
A data selecting apparatus is provided for selecting music performance configuration data in an automatic accompaniment apparatus, for example. Using the data selecting apparatus, a user can select music performance configuration data necessary for setting automatic accompaniment. The music performance configuration data is a combination of performance style, timbre, tempo, and harmony necessary for configuring or setting the automatic accompaniment. The music performance configuration data is normally stored in an internal memory device of the automatic accompaniment apparatus. The user can select a desired data item from plural items of music performance configuration data stored in the internal memory device. Additional music performance configuration data items are sometimes provided by means of an external memory medium such as a floppy disk. In this case, the music performance configuration data selecting apparatus can select a desired item of the music performance configuration data stored in the external memory medium in addition to the data stored in the internal memory device. For example, to select the desired data item stored in the floppy disk, the data selecting apparatus is placed into a disk access mode, in which the data selecting apparatus selects the desired data item from the floppy disk and loads the selected data item into the internal memory device.
Selection of data from the floppy disk requires the user to perform operation of selecting the disk access mode. This makes cumbersome the operation of the music performance configuration data selecting apparatus. The user may also encounter a situation in which he or she does not know which of the internal memory device and the floppy disk stores the desired data item. In such a situation, the user first searches the internal memory device for the desired item of the performance configuration data. If the desired data item is not found in the internal memory device, the user must search the floppy disk. Thus, the procedure of operating the conventional music performance configuration data selecting apparatus is complicated, degrading ease-of-operation.